May is Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month

May is Motorcycle safety awareness month, and as the weather warms up you can expect to see more motorcycles, scooters, and bicycles on the road.

As part of our campaign to raise awareness we’ll be posting motorcycle safety facts and figures throughout the week.

Drivers are reminded to look out for and share the road with motorcycle riders, and motorcycle riders are reminded to obey traffic laws, wear DOT (Department of Transportation)-compliant helmets and other protective gear, and make themselves visible by wearing bright colors and using reflective tape.

No matter how safely you ride, the threat of being hit by a car is always there. For those involved in a motorcycle accident, wearing a helmet maybe the difference between life and death. Here are some interesting trends over the last few years.

Per vehicle mile traveled (VMT) in 2009, motorcyclists were 25 times more likely than passenger vehicle occupants to die in a motor vehicle traffic crash and 5 times more likely to be injured

In 2010, 42 percent of fatally injured motorcycle riders and 51 percent of fatally injured motorcycle passengers were not wearing helmets at the time of the crash.

NHTSA estimates that helmets saved the lives of 1,483 motorcyclists in 2009. If all motorcyclists had worn helmets, an additional 732 lives could have been saved.

The economic cost savings due to helmet use was approxi­mately $2.9 billion in 2008, and an additional $1.3 bil­lion could have been saved if all motorcyclists had worn helmets.